The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
by L. Ferreira
Summary: By different times and from different characters, fifteen stories and considerations about what it means to be a Black.


_**Andromeda Black**_

**Freedom**

The concept of freedom is, as any other, relative, mutable, and able to mold itself according to the situation and time. Andromeda Black had always considered herself free, because, in her pureblood condition, she would always find protection against any problem that could hit the others. Furthermore, she already possessed, for natural right, a privileged position. After all, _she was a Black_.

Of course there were some standards she should follow, but why would it be a problem, if she had never known strong enough reasons to make her abandon the rules that constituted her world? Everything was just fine this way, therefore, she didn't need to judge them as right or wrong, because they simply were the only reality she had ever known.

It was in this reality that Andromeda believed during much of her youth. She was proud of being who she was, and knew there was no problem with that. Always followed the conventions by choice, without any effort. Perhaps sometimes, when the control of her curiosity suddenly escaped her, she had wondered why the world worked that way, what exactly made her better. But these were brief moments, and, anyway, her slytherin mentality would not open any space to question what she believed so strongly.

However, she did so. And that was why, in that moment, she walked briskly, but silently, towards the exit of her parents' house – of her house. _Without any possibility of coming back_.

It didn't matter how much she wanted to think the contrary; she knew it was definitive. And also knew her family too well to know that the next morning, when everyone woke up and finally realized what she had done, she would no longer be one of them.

Nevertheless, before opening the doors of the mansion and doing what should be done, Andromeda felt as if a part of her was being left between those walls. Because she was still part of that family, although the idea of importance attached to her last name was no longer so present in her. Perhaps, it already wasn't present at all. Even so, it hurt her to leave definitely what had once been her greatest source of pride. Before that, however, the most difficult was leaving the people who were there. She would miss her parents and her sisters, even after all the recent arguments, in which they had opposed themselves to her choices, making it clear that, depending on what they would be, she shouldn't consider herself a Black anymore.

_That when she had not even mentioned she would really marry Ted._

Reflecting better, Andromeda realized that, if she had done so before, she would no longer be there – probably her father would have already given her an ultimatum. What prevented the rupture of the fragile thread that still connected her to her family was the fact that they preferred to believe it was only an absurd moment of rebellion, completely unbelievable, but some time she would forget that mudblood boy and everything would be as before.

In the end, all of that boiled down to a pure matter of pride. It was the particular Black pride that made nobody accept her when she proved not to be what they expected. That made her father demand her return to the "right path", and her mother call her almost every day to talk – because Druella always knew how to articulate words better than Cygnus – and ask her repeatedly to reconsider, to act again according to her position, not to leave them and, most of all, to honor her house and her name. It was the force that made Bellatrix turn to her in an unusual hatred, even to her eldest sister's erratic temper; while Narcissa either acted exactly like her mother, only in a colder and more distant way, or simply looked at her from afar, when there was nobody else around, in a mixture of sadness and outrage veiled by silence. But this same pride was also present in Andromeda's firm decision, in the way she remained faithful to her own choices. And, precisely for having the pride of a Black, but directed differently, she didn't go back on her choice of marrying Ted Tonks.

She realized that, before going away, she had no regrets. She also believed that was leaving no unresolved issues, although her farewell had to happen that way: silent, obscure, blunt. Only now she clearly saw that everything was already resolved before that day come. When one is born with such strong purity and superiority values, one must only follow them – what she got used to do for a long time – with no room of questioning. From the moment one wonders whether they are right or not, the doubt about oneself and the reality around is aroused. When one goes forward in this question, there is a time when it's impossible to ignore one's own conscience, go back and be exactly as before. And Andromeda knew that.

She also knew that the seed of her change had not come from nowhere. It happened naturally: began with her unlikely friendship with Ted, in their last year at Hogwarts. She had never noticed he had always been there, but time made this friendship develop into something more, until, after some resistance, she just let it happen. Of course it wasn't easy – the conflict between her feelings and the ideology which she had always been faithful to would become unbearable sometimes – however, she never really thought about giving it all up – for stubbornness, for pride, and, above all, for love. For, since the beginning, wasn't the love between her and Ted that triggered that situation? Andromeda had never considered herself an exactly romantic person, but she knew how to distinguish what was real from what wasn't. And she knew it was real by the way her former values dissipated as their love became stronger, by the way Ted made her feel light, free from the weight and responsibility of being who she was. By the ease only he had to make her smile.

Nevertheless, she feared her family's reaction, although she already knew what was coming. However, if being himself was so easy to Ted, why couldn't it also be easy to her? The first thing she admired about him was his courage not to become bogged down in rules and conventions. And what made them even closer to each other was the fact that now this courage was also present in her, much stronger than in recent months. For these were made of new possibilities, but the decision she was taking was definitive.

Looking around, Andromeda still could see the elegant outlines in the interior of her house, despite the dim light that escaped from behind the heavy curtains. She couldn't avoid the constant homesick feeling by knowing it was the last time she would be there. She was rational enough to know that it would be better this way; she didn't want to be there to see more pressure and more arguments, and, although she didn't expect more than a few hours so that her family was furious and aunt Walburga blasted her off the Black tapestry, she still preferred to have everything ended at once. There are types of disruption that cannot happen otherwise.

If the concept of freedom molds itself according to the situation and time, Andromeda's had changed irremediably. Because Ted Tonks made her see that freedom wasn't a matter of social position, it was a matter of choices. She had already made her own, and nothing would make her change it. Therefore, after looking for the last time at the room that held so many of her memories and finally close the door, only having in front of her the dark ancient trees outlining the way out there, Andromeda, for the first time, felt truly free. Even though the images of her parents, her sisters and everything she wouldn't have anymore still permeated her mind, she knew that, gradually, it would no longer be a problem, for there was security and certainty in the decision she had taken. By the moment she apparated away from the Black mansion and found herself close to Ted again, she just knew it was worth it.

XXXXX

**A/N: So, this is the first chapter of the first fan fiction I've ever written. I always wanted to write about the Black family, but this idea has come up to my mind only a few weeks ago. As the summary states, there will be fifteen one-shots about each family member (not all of them, of course, but I believe it will reach many generations indeed). I hope you like it, and, by the way, the next chapter will probably be up next week.**


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